On October 20th, Ashland High School’s Hannah Doyle & Annika Larson took the championship at the Jerry Hudson Invitational on a 2-1 decision against Oak Hill’s Daisy Hagen & Katrina Carrier, negating the resolution that “This House would not consume art from artists deemed immoral.”

In affirmation, Hagen & Carrier defined “This House” as individuals present in the room, arguing that each person is responsible for taking a financial stand against art they deem immoral to create change. Doyle and Larson negated by defining “This House” as the United States Federal Government, arguing that adoption of such a resolution would enable unconstitutional censorship. Definitions were contested, as Ashland argued that the affirmation’s definition of “This House” was too limiting for substantial debate to occur and that individuals often refuse to evaluate art from artists they deem immoral.

Ashland’s disadvantages, Doyle said, were “just about censorship since the government could deem art by LGBTQ+ individuals as immoral,” also noting that this could harm education— since “old Hitler propaganda” is often used to “educate kids about what not to do.”

The two day tournament, straddling October 19th and 20th, took place just steps away from Oregon’s state capitol at Willamette University, and featured five preliminary rounds followed by a break to quarterfinals. The tournament ran efficiently and on schedule, which proved a relief to those entered in additional types of speech or debate.

Several resolutions in the tournament seemed unusual to competitors like Wilson High School’s Ari Lohr, who cited “This House would have children” and “This House believes Batman is better than Superman” as standout examples—perhaps more suited to impromptu than parli.

In the junior varsity division, Oak Hill’s Kat Antunes and McKenzie Carrier won as affirmation on 3-0 decision. In the novice division, Ashland’s Elijah Browne and Owen Johnson won as negation in a 3-0 decision.